


Deorum regna

by HarkranSteiner



Category: Original Work
Genre: City ships, Eldar races, Far Future, Futuristic, Godlike, Hybrids, Hyper advanced humans, Science Fiction, Supercluster - Freeform, Supercluster civilization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25670578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarkranSteiner/pseuds/HarkranSteiner
Summary: Humanity survived the Descension, a rapid escape of the higher realm of godlike power as their greatest enemy bombarded the superclusters. Now reborn as a species humanity survives within the Dankanese nation. A society across eleven superclusters of galaxies. These short stories explore the scale of this cosmos travelling civilization





	1. KkVvk's horror

Ffghkk star system, edge of Cimex space  
Command ship TkkVv  
Data analysis centre  
The Cimex fleet prepared to engage the unknown trespassers on their space. A small colony had been spotted with ships in orbit by a passing trader ship. Now sixty starships carrying forty-eight thousand soldier bugs converged on the planet, ready to sell their lives for survival and tue bloodline. The head of military numerics had worked for twenty years making him one of the oldest cimex on the department. He was director of the strategies board in charge of fleet deployment. His whizzen chitin hide bend over the holographic display. He was salivating for new data. The intruders were unknowns and he craved to be the first to process the records and stamp his name on history.  
"Its all about the math" said KkVvk.  
"What do you mean director?" asked his subordinate.  
"We have the latest phase drives, static fields, compacted armour, and depleted uranium railguns. Onboard each of the thirty cruisers are four fighters with particle guns, each one had a active track system and ion engines. That's a hundred and twenty. Our ten support ships are carrying two interceptors each with gatling lasers and rail guns. That's another twenty, and we have twenty scout ships. These are our statistics, knowing makes half the battle" monologued KkVvk.  
A chime signalled the scout ships had reached mass scanning range. Information was right now being gathered. The director could taste it. Soon they'd know who was strong, what tech they needed from the enemy, what tech they had that the enemy didn't. The other Cimex looked aimlessly in the dark vaulted room, columned like a hive no one could see the bronze of the walls and benches of computer holographics. Each insect talking and staring in their pointless need. Only the director was frenzying, desperate to also will the data to him. His destiny even now inched closer. He could taste it, his mandibles clenched so tight his gums bled.  
The first computers lit up, range specs. Another bank of holographics, spectrometry. The main holograms lit up the entire room and all the computers lit up on every column. KkVvk raised his head to greet his destiny.

The other insects began listing off what the scans from the scout ships displayed. The fleet almost in range, every moment meant lives so KkVvk listened intently.  
"Detecting one dreadnought and 2 small starships in orbit around the enemy colony. Scans are not being countered, they are letting us see what's inside their fields."  
"Unknown drives in the 3 ships, scans say parts aren't here but work as if they are?"  
"Dreadnought's armour seems to read as the surface of a white dwarf but time dilation is zero."  
"Shield generators detected but no spectrometry on a field of any type."  
"Dreadnought carrying 6 light fighters armed with…I can't identify?! I can't identify any of it. Not even thier targetting system?!"  
"Dreadnought armed with unknown cannons, no projectile or beam tech detected. Detecting missiles with…FTL engines, estimating…system to system range. Detecting unknown ordinance as main weapon, best simulation predicts…er…erm?!"  
"Well!" yelled a subordinate.  
"Planetkiller yield."  
KkVvk's mandibles dropped.  
Outnumbering the enemy twenty to one and they would all die like the avian insects of their world, he thought.  
The other insects looked at each other and then their director. The fleet was closing in. Yet he stood their gob smacked and speechless. The holographic display central in the chamber changed to the face of another Cimex.  
"Advisory!"  
The commander of the fleet, MmKkrn himself, smartest and always a listener of wisdom, had appeared demanding council. KkVvk looked at the data again. Another cimex near the commander could be hear addressing his superior.  
"Commander, message from the enemy. Two words: leave now."  
The commander's mandible twitched.  
"Well?! What say you Director, what say you?" said MmKkrn.  
The director looked up at his commander.  
"Flee…


	2. In the middle

Bolgius Senate, E9  
Litogenion galaxy, Leo supercluster  
48 times the humans had petitioned the galactic senate for an audience with the elder races, now even the lesser races were snubbing them. Calling them space vagabonds from dark space. Seven times over the course of a hundred years galactic threats had been drawn to human space as the senate used them as problem solvers. Now invasion fleets from a neighbouring galaxy threatened the peace once more and a plan was in the works to hand intelligence to the enemy so they would focus on the human fleets. 18 billion human lives had perished, eternally lost even after living in dark space. The Vulgares had stopped their progression through the galaxy, expecting a withdrawal. Now a senate hearing was in session about how to ease the cost of the war, everyone was in attendance as each argued they'd sent the most ships and troops but now needed to withdraw to rebuild their numbers. The larger empires were pushing the new or smaller empires to take up the fight in an appalling bullying move. The political bullying disgusted the human general, he was outside his booth in the senate hall awaiting the signal.  
"This is intolerable. The senate is abusing its authority to pressure our governments to fight in their war, whilst I add, holding back so they maintain dominance in the post-war rebuild" said a Pelecanus senator.  
"We must regroup" said the Canis senator.  
"Surely you see, this affects us all. We cannot be expected to fight for others if it’s not our space" said the higher mammal.  
"If they secure a region more reinforcements pour in so it’s by necessity!" stated a Scincidae senator.  
"We lost ninety ships since this war began" said the Deepstaria senator.  
The alien floated in his gas booth, almost like an animal on display. The other species were uncomfortable with the nude species of gas giant dwelling life.  
"Our forces are finite, we must regr-"  
The Agama senator was cut off by another alien.   
"We all know you’re letting the humans fix your problem again."  
Argument and accusation flew left and right. The human general entered his booth in the senate hall, only a few paid him any notice and as ever the elder races weren't present.  
"And here they are, the vagabonds. Where is your senator human, has he sent you in his place" laughed the Sphyrnidae senator.  
The human general held up his hand and every senate seat was filled with holographic displays. On the holo screens moon-sized megastructures were in battle surrounded by the enemy's fleets. A topographic map of the enemy galaxy showed more than a thousand of these battles were raging across their galaxy. Most of the senate seemed astonished, not only had the humans travelled to another galaxy but had launched an invasion of their own.  
"What is the meaning of this?" said the Agama senator.  
Red dots displayed across the topographic map and on the screens the megastructures opened up and vanished into blackness. One by one each screen went dark as sweeping dark areas covered the topographic map.  
"What happened, did you lose the bases?" said the Pelecanus.  
"Is this some attempt at intimidation?" mocked the Deepstaria.  
"How did you launch this attack, was it not too soon" said the Canis senator.  
The Canis looked at the higher mammal who remain silent. Such an enormous conflict was beyond the estimates of resources they’d predicted the humans had.  
"Is this some stunt by the vagabo-"  
The Scincidae senator was cut off by an earthquake. Unseen by the small galactic senate quakes rippled across every object in space as the supermassive blackhole changed course and shifted the swirl of stars around it.  
"Strategic! What's going on?" said the Agama senator.  
The military attendant for system defence beside him on the council’s balcony contacted a control room elsewhere, a hologram of an admiral appeared in the vaulted chamber.   
"Chancellors we’ve detected multiple quakes on every planet in the system. The star itself is under some kind of pressure" said the admiral.  
"What kind of pressure. Report!" said the Agama.  
"Similar reports from across the sector, more streaming in from afar. News feeds from this corner of the galaxy report system wide quakes…everywhere" said the Admiral.  
All eyes were on the human general as he stood arms folded waiting. The admiral seemed distressed and shouted out orders to deploy the air force. After several tense minutes with no answers the senate floor seemed to burst into shock and outrage, many believing it a trick…until the elder races appeared.  
An armoured being behind a veil appeared in the vaulted senate hall, teleporting into the senate room and followed by 2 beings of light. 2 creatures teleported beside the council and a machine built itself out of thin air.  
"We will see you now" said the armoured being.  
Without ceremony the human general threw a data pad into the air and marched out, the pad was moved through the air to the creatures beside the council. One of the creatures read it and all the elder seemed to nod then one by one the elder races left the senate room. Many protested the human’s arrogance and the council scheduled sanctions to embargo human citizens within their space. Until the galactic scientific establishment gave them news that silenced all protest. The reason the blackhole at the centre of their galaxy had shifted was because of an absence of weight from an unknown source. It would take several years before the senate knew…the enemy galaxy was gone.


	3. Epoclusion

Planet Defous, the Gheghis  
Teleport terraforming operations room  
The planet was a barren icy world but with an atmosphere, a single Dankanan city upon its surface. Sand storms obscured patches of the surface. Aboard the city ship the TTO room was a bustle of activity. Everyone was supposed to be monitoring their stations. All around the city ship were storms as matter was converted on a slow global scale. The planet was being terraformed by veils of matter reconstruction, within days of arrival the air had been made breathable.  
A man dressed in the tattered green jumpsuit rested with his back to his work, watching his hologram on an early lunch break. The galactic news was a buzz about a space station armed with a planetkiller beam.  
"Is that it?!" asked his friend.   
His friend, a greyish green man with dyed purple hair in his barghest surplus slacks, stood over his hologram.  
"Its terrifying to them Timoll, even to this city it’s a dangerous armament" said the operator.  
"Still its no match for our tech Sesrik" said his friend.  
"Yeah but it’s the most terrifying weapon in the next corner of this galaxy" said Sesrik.  
"Think they'd freak out if they knew?" asked Timoll.  
"We change planets with city size teleporters, our defence cannons destroy fleets and shoot through planets, we have far worse in our arsenal. Yeah I think we'd be the doom harbingers to them" said Sesrik.  
Timoll smiled.  
"I'd love to see you trying to play malevolent, we are the harbingers" laughed his friend.  
Sesrik punched him in the arm and they both laughed. But Timoll's eyes narrowed as a red light appeared on Sesrik's holo screen. Sesrik turned and jumped at his station, quickly typing the log in and bringing up the alert.  
"Life trace?" said Timoll.  
"Alien female, a Nilo?! Following it back, yeah she's landed a small ship. Wait..."  
Sesrik's voice trailed off as they both read Dankana in the genetic description his work station displayed.  
"Hey, is that?!" said Timoll.  
"Not a host, my first thought too. But no Rinku" said Sesrik.  
"She's a half human alien, one of the epoclusion run off?" said Timoll.  
Sesrik nodded, a small box opened on his screen as the sensors detected audio. Clicking it a voice could be heard in the storm.  
"...told to come here. Ukgh! Told by my father, that this was...verlou, where to find his people. T'chian sake! I was told to come here..."  
Sesrik muted the voice, keyed in an emergency code and the storm engulfing the warning icon disappeared. A chime sounded, then another voice.  
"Ses' what's going on?"  
"Not going to believe it but I got a visitor. An honest to numine half human showed up on our doorstep. Well the islands next to our doorstep" said Sesrik.  
"Really? Get security to escort you and get the pup back indoors" said the voice.  
"Can I come? I want to see if it eats Ses" said Timoll, laughing.  
"Sure. Just hurry up" said the voice.  
The audio cut out. Sesrik typed a message and sent it to the communications group. He rose as did Timoll and they both marched out of the operator banks. Passing rows of operators at terminals much the same as he had.  
"Who'd you message? Security?" said Timoll.  
"Nah! She's new so I thought we'd give her the surprise of mystique" said Sesrik.  
"What?!" said Timoll.  
"I sent a message to the psi comm, the storms just vanished and soon she'll hear a sweet voice in her brain telling her everything’s going to be okay. Just wait and then we'll pop up" said Sesrik.  
"You'll spook it" said Timoll.  
"Sounded like a girl’s voice to me" said Sesrik.  
"Then you'll spook her!" laughed Timoll "who'd you get to whisper in her head?"  
"Diamonique" said Sesrik.  
"She has got a lovely voice, even in your head but aren't you dropping her in the deep end. She's only from a spacefaring empire. You'll creep her out with storms and voices" said Timoll.  
Sesrik smirked as they past through the Herne security office and walked off a ledge into the slowing descending beam of light. The absence of gravity meant they fell at a rate they entered the beam.  
"Nah! She's getting rescued by her new people."  
"New people?" said Timoll.  
"She's one of us now" said Sesrik "besides…she might be hot?!"  
“I still think she’ll eat you!” laughed Timoll.  
The two made their way to the barghest station on the perimeter of the city ship. Within an hour the two TTO operators were on their way across the skies with a squad of Barghest. Sesrik explaining they'd need to remain onboard to not spook the newcomer. As they approached they saw the small ship was a emergency lifeboat from a Nilo transport. The Dankanan ship came down near the craft and Sesrik & Timoll emerged as they saw a creature on the lifeboats gang ramp. As they walked down their ramp they saw it was a Nilo but with human eyes and a pink tongue. As they got closer they noticed the scruffy uniform which was big on the alien and twin belts binding the oversized pants.  
Clearly hand-me-downs, sent Timoll.  
They noticed the green which appeared to be a paint upon its skin and saw rubbed off patched that showed red scale.  
Clearly hiding, sent Sesrik.  
"Hi" said Sesrik.  
"Are you…Dankana?" asked the alien.  
Girl, hah, sent Sesrik.  
"Yes. Welcome to Defous sister" said Timoll.  
Sesrik adjusted his tattered jumpsuit, suddenly aware of his appearance. She smirked in that odd way reptiles did.  
"You know I'm…"  
She let the words trail off and Timoll was aware of an odd feeling. A sickly feeling coming from the alien.  
"Yeah, we know you're half human" said Sesrik.  
"I thought you were Dankanies?" she asked.  
"Got a few names, we're a very complicated species" said Timoll.  
"What's the name?" asked Sesrik.  
"HguSsa" said the alien "I'm not welcome with my people and my father left a message saying I'd always be welcome with yours?!"  
"Of course" said Sesrik.  
The two humans waited and HguSsa looked awkward.  
"Do you wanna get your stuff?" asked Sesrik.  
"What do I have to do to get by?" asked HguSsa.  
Timoll and Sesrik just looked at each other. The odd question and the feelings in their xenopathy told them it was a bad sort of question.  
"No, no, no not that!" said Timoll.  
"You do that with someone you like, not…you know" said Sesrik.  
"What do I have to pay?" asked HguSsa.  
"Nothing" remarked Timoll.  
She was quiet for several moments.  
"I don't get it! You say I have nothing you want but you'll give me shelter and stuff…for nothing?" said HguSsa.  
Both humans laughed. Even the barghest onboard the ship laughed at the absurdity. She was alarmed by the other voices on their ship.  
"We're not your standard aliens, we have more than enough so you're welcome at our table and to sleep in your own quarters" said Timoll.  
"You don't even have to be Human nor Nilo, we have tons of options" said Sesrik.  
Idiot, sent Timoll.  
HguSsa looked confused at Sesrik.  
"There's a lot for you to learn with us. You won't be expected to do anything, give you some time to adjust" said Timoll.  
"There's some great bars for you to try" said Sesrik.  
"Grab your things and seal your ship. You can come back for it later and we'll show you our city" said Timoll.  
HguSsa nodded and went back into her ship. Timoll scowled at Sesrik.  
What's wrong with you, sent Timoll.  
I didn't think changing species was a bad thing, sent Sesrik.  
They both waited as they heard her rustling about on the lifeboat. They heard the clang of pots and pans. Something dropped and broke. A rustle of papers. Another something dropping on the floor and a feeling in their xenopathy.  
Is she putting a gun in her backpack, sent Timoll.  
Doesn't matter, here she comes, sent Sesrik.  
"All ready to go?" asked Sesrik.  
The half Nilo alien came down the gang ramp with a backpack and a duffle bag that had a word written along its side.  
"Mom's?" asked Timoll "oh, so you were raised by your mom?"  
HguSsa nodded as she signalled for the lifeboat to reseal it's side entrance. The gang ramp raised automatically. Sesrik gestured and walked her to the human ship, his arm around her shoulder and Timoll shaking his head as they walked back. She met the barghest onboard then they set off back to the Gheghis. HguSsa stared out the holo window at the sight of a city ship, taken back by the scale of the spaceship.


	4. Though alien eyes

A fleet decelerated their approach to edge of the star system, 76 vessels and 4 moon sized artificial structures invaded the small 8 planet system on the edge of their territory. The collected armada of the Niloticus race had mustered after reports of an unknown species had colonised the 3rd planet, stating they just wanted to be left alone, and they weren't recognised from any species index in Nilo space. These ships answered to the admiral H'vestius, supreme strategist to the Matriarch. Victor of over 90 engagements with hostile aliens entering his people's space.  
The admiral marched into the bridge, an amphibian hide draped over the shoulder of his red uniform. Upon his elongated neck he wore steel rings each indicating a victory in battle, he wore the 10 he was most proud of. Amongst the crew it was said he had so much steel he couldn't wear them all.  
"Status on the enemy" yelled H'vestius.  
"Detecting 5 ships and one station in orbit Admiral, 4 scout and 1 dreadnought" answered his scanning officer.  
"Good, so they have some fight in them, have the battle moons launch their fighter payloads and remain cloaked. Form battle lines and have the first adva..."  
H'vestius stopped as his science officer turned hastily.  
"We've got a problem! I can't get a reading on their armour or shields" said the science officer "I'm picking up time dilation but its different. I can't get spectrometry to lock on."  
"Advanced then, comm officer open a channel" said H'vestius.  
He waited for his commands to be executed. He sat in his command chair until the comm officer declared he was ready to transmit. Standing he began his monologue.  
"This is Admiral H'vestius of the People's republic of Sko'Urr, supreme strategist of the naval force assembled here. Butcher of the insect menace, purger of the vile planet beasts, hero of the AI invasion. You have invaded our space, this system and everything in it is ours. You will leave or…you-will-be-destroyed!"  
Moments passed then the comm officer reacted.  
"Sir, they sent back a since word - Leave."  
"Seems negotiations are over, prepare the fleet! First line advance, all fighters engage the station" said H'vestius.  
A wave of destroyers advanced on the single world, 240 fighters launched from the hidden moon megastructures hiding behind their light curvature fields. The fleet descended upon the handful of ships in orbit, like a swarm of sharks converging for the kill. As they neared mid-range for the assault, long range nukes were launched from the armada.  
"Sir!" shouted the science officer, "detecting a teleportation device activating."  
"Ah, they must be sending energy bombs or electronic warfare. Have no worries Ssargonin."  
"No, sir its like nothing I've seen before" cried the science officer.  
In a ball of light the dreadnought seemed to fall only to emerge in the centre of the armada's second line. As the nearest ships spun to bring their weapons to bear, the unknown dreadnought bounced a spatial field off its own shields creating a shockwave of force in every direction. Instantly 6 ships were destroyed or cripped. As the nukes were intercepted by the smaller ships around the planet, the station launched a planetkiller beam at the nearest moon structure instantly destroying it. The admiral dragged himself up a collapsed beam.   
"Status report!" yelled H'vestius.  
An injured officer replied "We lost 6 ships and, queen protect us, 1 war-moon."  
"The war-moon, impossible Faustius" said H'vestius.  
"Its gone, the other three are withdrawing. The dreadnought physically telepor..."  
Faustius stopped as another explosion rocked the ship. "we've lost 2 more ships and the fighters are down 30% since their assault began" continued Faustius.  
"Comm! Tell the fighters to withdraw to the fleet, we need our damaged ships to withdraw. We must..."  
H'vestius gritted his teeth as his ship shook with the destruction of 4 more vessels nearest his.  
"Bring us around the wreck of Vemon's grace, get us some cover" yelled H'vestius.  
The battle was going dire, these creatures were terrifying. These invaders were a real threat to republic space. These aliens, these enemies...these Humans!

Twelve weeks later  
Since the unknown race invaded the edge of their space, they had spread since that first engagement, into the conflicts they were having with the other four species on the frontiers. Having detected the other four a century ago on deep space recons the raids and conflicts had only escalated. Nilo never gave ground, that’s how they dominated their world. They couldn't have guessed it had taken them twice as long to reach the stars as the other species. Now in each conflict the humans had come, stopping the raiding forces or defending easy targets. Slowly the war had turned and the reptiles now found themselves on the defensive. In twelve weeks the human invaders had fought them back to their own planets and conquered 3 worlds they had taken.  
They didn't even want them for themselves, thought H'vestius.  
From the initial armada of 60 ships and 4 battle moons only 7 ships had made it out. It had depleted the economy to pay for the research and building of that great armada. He was still in command of 4 ships, though his hold was waning and his officers looked more aggressive each day. Vying for his place no doubt. He was patroling instead of raiding, another demotion but it was better than execution. He walked under escort to the bridge hearing his crew's concerns along the way.  
"They watched them building a ringworld, big as a planet. It’s nearly half finished"  
"Impossible, megastructures take a hundred years not months."  
"As soon as the army sets up a muster point for another raid human invaders siege the site."  
"We can't replicate their technology, its not ahead of ours its a million years ahead. Maybe more."  
"I hear they're undead, kill them one day and you'll be staring into their eyes the next day too."  
"They have 5 stages of their evolution living on their worlds, must be from inbreeding."  
"I heard a researcher went crazy with one of their artefacts. Some kind of circular device like a bug all curled up. He said it whispered to him."  
"I was there in the armada, their dreadnought teleported into the centre of the fleet. They're really advanced. Saw our battle moons and tore them down, they aren't creatures to be underestimated."  
Damn it, thought H'vestius.  
The last thing he overheard really struck a nerve, the lose of an armada was one thing but 4 megastructures were a strategic lose to the species. Now the humans and his people parlayed, there was even talk of peace.  
Peace with aliens, not that we have much options, he thought and sneered.  
Getting to the bridge his guards took up position around the room. An officer handed him a report, H'vestius kept his eye on the man while clutching his knife in case he tried anything. Uneventfully, he looked at the document on the computer pad he'd been handed.  
Parlay it is then, he thought reading it, peace treaty blah, blah but we're to continue raiding...  
His eyes widened  
With the humans, he thought, through a gateway of theirs but only to engage ships attacking an distress signal. Once engaged we will demand they stand down, regardless of their authority if they refuse we're to raid them.  
"Fine with us" he said.  
Resting back in his chair.  
So peace with aliens, he thought, and we help them. That isn't going to go down well with-  
His eyes glared at the report again.  
To a range of 35,000ly, he thought, so they can detect communications inside our territory as well as others. No wonder the generals agreed.  
He stood up.  
"Contact engineering" said H'vestius "tell the chief that I want a torpedo setup for rapid deceleration and extreme range. Replace the warhead with a data archive."  
A few heads looked puzzled at him.  
"Our communications have been breached throughout republic space, we need a courier system. Ship to ship" said H'vestius.

38hrs later  
H'vestius marched with his officers, one had acquired a slash to the face by a disgruntled politician after his loss of the fleet but since all communications could be monitored the strategy of couriers to secret information had won him favour. His scarred officer was a heavy set brute with a crumbled nose after a recent scuffle with angry officers upon arriving at the Council building.  
Favour didn't spare him from the discontent amongst his people. The hall ways were cast in a yellow glow from outside and everywhere was covered in plant life, an oppulence to convey wealth in their arid world.  
"What's this assembly about" said the brute, before snorting out blood.  
"Humans have an offer for us G'arik" said H'vestius.  
His eyes darting to every corner they passed. Passing a water fountain with serpent statues rising from pits, G'arik stopped to drink water.  
"Must you? Anyway this might be a good thing, something we can spin" said the other officer.  
Marching again, they turned the corner to see the archway into the assembly hall. Hearing a growl ahead they saw the former Admiral, H'vestius' replacement, that had led the defence as the humans raided their advance fleets purging aliens from neighbouring star ststems. Another hulking brute like G'arik but wobbled and had one eye. His last engagement had left him traumatised. He growled at an officer trying to help him. H'vestius' officers took a step back at the third growl, whilst he marched forward.  
"What are you doing?" said the other officer.  
Slipping under Demestius' arm, H'vestius got a roar in his face as he helped steady the giant.  
"H'vestius?" said the brute.  
A surprised smile on the hulking reptiles face.  
"Shut that huge mouth of yours Demestius" yelled H'vestius "before you eat me and let’s go, the humans are here and our place is at the front my friend."  
The giant smiled and both of their officers swarmed behind them. As they pushed their way into the assembly hall. A tall chamber with high pews that sat a few hundred of their kind, with a central seat at the rear and a beam of light on the talking floor. Their group came in like soldiers from the frontline, amongst the politicians and army advisors. Standing on the talking floor was a single tall human, silently waiting for everyone to get seated.  
"Who's that?" asked H'vestius  
"Avel!" growled Demestius.  
Hearing his name spoken, the tall human looked and nodded in their direction.  
"Sirs over here" said the other officer.  
He was standing on the front pew, waving them over to their seats.  
"Thanks Sssestus" growled Demestius.  
They sat flanked by their officers. Fully seated and after the arrival of the Queen, lead female of the Clutches, the assembly began. The human orating in the assembly hall.  
"My name is Avel, military commander of this branch of humanity and chief advisor of our council. Today we have a proposal that benefits both sides. For your people to join our nation in an exchange programme, allowing you full access to our vector space jump gates as well as wormhole network."  
He paused to let that sink in.  
"And what does that mean?" asked Demestius.  
"Silence your tongue" yelled a governor from a small moon in the system.  
"Festsss" hissed Demestius.  
The Queen made no move to silence, so the human held up his hands.  
"It means, that with the conventional engines on your ships you will be able to travel anywhere..."  
Avel paused again, the hall filled with talk amongst the Nilo but the Queen hadn't moved. H'vestius knew something was up so he stood.  
"And!?" he declared.  
Before another politician could scowl him, the human spoke and his words cut the politics down.  
"...in 15 galaxies within the supercluster we dubbed Ursa major."  
The hall was silent, the Queen rose from her seat at the back of the hall. Demetius stood and looked at his queen. She singled out H'vestius with her gaze and nodded.  
"What do you ask of us?" he said, looking back at the human.  
"One human rep on each ship, as an SOS signals anywhere in the galaxy one of your ships jumps to solve the emergency. If its a military ship you demand they leave the other ship alone, whatever they say you ask them to stand down. If they engage they're yours. Raid only pirates and military targetting civilians. Keep to the rules and you can enforce them in 15 galaxies" said Avel.  
Stark silence filled the hall as holograms apeared on the speaking floor showing 14 other galaxies around the one they stood and a network in each. Details shot up showing small intergalactic empires, Sssestus and a few other intelligence types began frantically reading the details.  
More than 7 galaxies were being developed with network and it appeared vessels were on their way to the others. If it had come from any other species no one would believe it but the humans had proven to be far superior. Only now their people were realising the scale of their enemy.  
"Building has started, the network will be complete within the year" said Avel.  
H'vestius met Demetius' worried look then rounded on the human. The sheer weight of advantage such a system gave the humans pressed on their minds. The industry alone was staggering but militaristically they were already inside another empire.  
"How can we trust you alien, an enemy that struck at every turn. You are nothing like us" yelled H'vestius.  
"You say we're not," grinned Avel "we're mammals, we evolved from reptiles. I'm asking if you'll to be heroes to the galaxies and I'm dumping an ocean of blood onto your kind and saying is it enough!"  
He marched over to tower over H'vestius and stare Demetius in his eye.  
"So, I ask you this..." he paused "did enough reptilian survive evolution?"  
The Niloticus felt the thrill of glory and their bloodlust rose as the Queen stood. All eyes turned to her.  
"Yes it did!" she declared.  
The reptiles rose as one and cheers filled the hall. Avel returned to the centre and knelt on the speaking floor, the Queen smiled back and made her leave. She then turned back to gestured an attendant. The attendant held aloft a flag in his claw, H'vestius saw it was his own. Quickly he went to Demetius side.  
"What are you doing?" growled the brute.  
"Meeting the Queen again and we're all going" said H'vestius.  
G'arik helped Demetius up, a curt nod was the only thing they shared in their exchange as the group headed up the pews towards the Queen's reception.

1 month later  
Sssestus pulled his hood back for the Vulpes police officer, he and a hundred others had volunteered for ferrying 1200 teens to the station inside the wormhole. A human colony claimed by Vulpes after it was abandoned. The humans had gotten all the other species to ferry their young here, a few thousand ready to begin higher education. Promises of a brighter future but the government was suspicious and a little uncomfortable with their powerful allies favouring anyone else. He pasted through the security check point; looking at cimex, feles and delphina being welcomed by the vulpes. Though there was a bit of a cold reception for his lot after the conflicts.  
As the classes moved on with the other Nilo teachers he slipped away to met his contact in a secluded alley near a heating exchange. The grate in the floor bled heat and steam, it was refreshing and made him licked his face.  
"How long until the announcement?" said the female agent posing as another teacher.  
"Not long Leskus" he said, looking out of the alley.  
"And will everyone be in place, we've had no prep done. Just these ambiguous orders of readiness and any strays to be rounded up?" she said.  
"Our orders stand, the humans say they will get everyone there" said Sssestus.  
She pulled a pistol out of her bag. It was simple pulse accelerator, a primative railgun tech but reliable.  
"No. Keep it if we need it. As for now we're just observing and if necessary fighting our way back with the kids" he said.  
"All of them? A few nipped me more than once" she smirked.  
"Yes all, the admiral's own kids are amongst that clutch and he'd eat my eyes if I lost his only son" he said.  
They seperated and headed to their assignments.  
Two hours later  
The council chambers was being filled by delegates from the various colonies of each species. Each booth had three seats for the delegates and their attaches, with religious reps present in others. The hall was a theatre remodeled as a council chamber with more than a hundred boothes. Staring down at the three discs of holographics on the hall floor and the enclosed booth up on high where the lead council sat. A orange skinned redhead human hovered in mid air near the enclosed booth. After an hour of lengthy introductions the first senate hearing for diplomatic relations got underway. A delegate for a Vulpes moon kicked it off with proposals for trade ships across borders. H'vestius had to keep his jaws closed as he yawned, smiling at a nervous looking Feles diplomat next to him. The others were in position and he just had to struggle to keep a straight face. He was thankful for the humans telepathic translation, he could hear the high pitch squelling but had no interest in alien languages. By now events were in motion and if needed his men stood ready to fight their way out. He could feel sleep pulling him down and fought to keep awake in these dull proceedings. Its what probably made the Feles nervous, him suddenly staring wide eyed into the hall. Looking all goggle-eyed, she didn't know he was bored.  
Suddenly the door into his booth opened. All the doors into the boothes opened and a wave of alarm swept the hall as H'vestious and the delegates turned to see the young of other species standing by the doors. Their guards missing and young aliens staring at them confused. H'vestious himself was looking a three surprised looking Vulpes kids, to avert suspicion he stood instantly yelling.  
"Betrayal!"  
"No" boomed a voice.  
The feles next to him looked at him wary of the 4 Nilo young looking into her booth. The delegates turned as a human teleported into the air in the centre of the chamber. A male with long black hair, a bleach pale hand and patch on his eye where his most distinguishing features. He monologued the same deal Avel had offered and neglected to state that the Nilo had already agreed. Now it seemed the human had guessed right as the other species seemed hesitant about the offer. Accusations started between the other species and this new human, H'vestius stood and yelled through the heated debate.  
"My people agree, you have our full support. Full military assets."  
The senate was dumbfounded into silence. It took a few moments before someone spoke up.  
"How can a diplomat make such a statement! You have no authority" said a Cimex.  
Typing into his data pad a letter of full authority from his matriarch appeared in front of all the delegates.  
"I have full authority to take any deal offered if I think its in my people's best interest" said H'vestius.  
The trap was set, the humans were unnervingly apt in their deceptions. A bit too good for H'vestius' liking, even their mistakes he'd noticed had an air of deception. Others started taking the bait, offering their support.  
"The world of Naahha agrees."  
"Yaayhhh, the home world pledges assets."  
"The nation of Ra'Ro agrees."  
"The nation of Ff’Ana agrees."  
"Let's ask your young if they accept" declared the human orator "the age you knew ends now, tomorrow is a new dawn. You will travel not only this galaxy but 14 others. You will be part of the elder civilization."  
The young began crying out in shock and grasping their left hands. A strange pain that passed quickly.  
"What's happening?" asked a Vulpes behind H'vestius.  
"Biometrics, any young can now enter into our communal areas...as well as activate our tech" said the human orator.  
The delegates were surprisingly silent and H'vestius knew a cue when he was offered.  
"Who here welcomes this new age" he said, raising his fist high.  
The kids were naturally the ones to speak up and the human speaker joined in cheering the Nilo's name. They would spread word like a plague of gossip from here to every world. Their social media acted like propaganda and they had been getting mass followings after been selected for this endeavour into the wormhole station. Everywhere they would be welcome, doors were opening in industry and media. The Human's words would spread like wildfire.  
"H'vestius", "H'vestius", "H'vestius!"  
A chill descended his spine seeing the smile of the human orator and his colleague.


	5. Gopelion colony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Human occupied world on the galactic fringe

It was late evening, and the city glowed with its blue luminescence. The gleaming tower of the tele-presence hub seemed dull in the night, its usual glowing orbs absent. The city's Kugelblitz battery flickered as power reserves drained dry. TU power plants were dark without the constant red glow from drawing energy from the outer core. MT recycling was running unchecked so small storms of disintegration were running rampant in houses. There was only a crater were the Passage graves should be. Rollright stones jutted from the ground across the city. The Gelida tech was damaged and unpowered but sporadic energy spikes set off pockets of frozen time. The Wight temple and the hospital were barely left standing. Scans showed no life-stealing disruptor fields showing at the civilian shelters beneath the city. Even the Xlantii at the city centre was absent. The city was dead and downed combat transports, many of them crippled and burning, littered 20 kilometres it. Floating buildings, each a hundred and forty meters tall, slowly glided in across the city limits beaming lights in every structures. A wave of armoured troops flooded forward in a breaking wave 3 kilometres wide. Detonations bursting amongst them, purple hazes bloomed with each blast, juddering then with a gritty thump. Showering down dirt. Every soldier's helmet was filled with comm-chatter distorted by oscillations that left the voices perverse to hear. Assault squads swept in over their heads, between the floating behemoths. Around the wide platforms, tessen fire streamed half invisibly through the air. Seen only in the horizontal and vertical, while tracer fire blitzed in each confrontation. The humans were retaking the city.  
"Kill it!" Killian yelled.  
A purple haze erupted near him. The soldier beside H’sk raised his Bohiya, his weapon seeming to be like a sniper rifle but more akin to a grenade launcher but shot from the hip. In the distance something was engulfed in a roasting wash of yellow flame. The enemy seemed unbound to gravity, but oddly always falling as they moved. The Polypus were multi horned metallic aliens with eight eyes, almost jellyfish like. The enemy's weapons seemed to meld everything they impacted. What had been a recovery trip to a settlement gone dark had quickly turned into all-out war, the humans were prepared for war but not against them. Unable to withdraw without losing their frontline, humanity followed its natural instinct – all or nothing!  
"Into them!" barked Oberon.  
Killian buried his mǣce into a polypus, the alien fought to save itself but the breach widened and a glow grew from within only to engulf it with a detonation. He stood unfazed as if untouched by the force. The team was trying to protect its escort of feles as the 2nd wave marched over their position.  
"Third company, fall back" shouted Killian.  
Dazzling fire continued to rake them from the upper balconies of the street. In the far distance a section of the city was engulfed in a haze, a hue suddenly shifted the clouds in the sky. The ground trembled and a noise heard in all their minds like a siren passing by.  
"Coriolis" a human shouted.  
The enemy withdrew but Killian knew it was one of their space pits opening, safe zones where they thrived but implausible for his own to survive. Reports flooded his mind, Blythe’s force had deep-strike the city centre and secured the pavilions with its lakes to the west. Linus force were driving up through the lower town towards his position. Lazar’s force pushed into the far flank of the city.  
Renaissance to Glory, third has stalled, sent Killian.  
Killian, maelstrom with this…good, hold ‘til Koi overtakes you, transmitted Lazar.  
A medic stood over a soldier and Killian marched over. The feles H’sk was being carried by the soldier with the Bohiya, he lay the feles beside the medic. Killian looked the cat-like alien up and down then turned to the medic.  
"Who is it?" asked Killian.  
"Arcturus," replied the medic "connection broken so we’ll have to leave it. Thankful he didn't turn Relictus."  
"What? He’s one of your own?" asked H’sk, "Is it a fear of dea…"  
The feles vomited at the stench of ozone, his hip had taken a bad knock and one of his ribs was clearly bothering him. Clutching a Fukiya he had been given, Killian was worried he’d shoot himself accidentally holding the gauntlet for dear life. The humans had a detachment about them and this whole conflict was more vengeance than a fight for supremacy. There was no mercy, no prisoners, just ruin for their enemy.  
"He’s not dead, no one except the civilians here are. The body is a host, his mind’s elsewhere as is his real body. The only one’s here that can die are your lot and the enemy" stated the medic.  
“Tansy, how's our feles friend?” asked Killian.  
He pointed at H’sk. The medic had barely looked at him before a retort came.  
"I’m phlegmatic!"  
H’sk managed to say in a huff.   
"Obie!" yelled Killian.  
"Re-secured" stated Oberon, meaning the street, "I lost two trying to grenade the roofs, my choler is up but I don’t think we can hold in the adjacent streets. We can stay until morning then the search for survivors."  
Killian knew they were spent, he left the medic to her work and pushed on down the street into a wide colonnade ahead. The towering walls were decorated with frescos, showing familiar scenes of alien animals with each portrait. Killian felt lose for all the lives that had perished here, this mausoleum of a city filled with enemies. They had to pay for so much death! Death was infrequent even though rarely did anyone live longer than 5 millennia but this was thousands gone. Each lost soul would ignite a raging loved one and war would spill into space once more. The streets were filled with beautiful sights now smashed or stained with blood, each sight would've unnerved a feles soldier but only seemed to enrage the humans. Atrocity was not something they feared…it only stoked the fire within them.  
"Contact" shouted the soldier Clyde.  
His men began to fire, and Killian rushed back down the street, raking the road behind them. Oberon was raging, he killed three, bringing a building crumbling into the street with his weapons impacts. By the time Killian arrived he was down on his knees, groaning in pain from his mangled hand. Charging past him, shooting at the enemy, a jolt of force tore into his shoulder making him drop his Tessen. As he hit the floor his other hand drew the Heoru from its scabbard. A hue flashed into life as it touched air. Gore plastered his face and the front of his armour from one of his soldiers as his face exploded from being hit with their melding weapons.  
Renaissance to Linus, in trouble, sent Killian.  
Behind you eighty metres, he received.  
"Oberon? How’s the hand?" said Killian.  
Oberon returned a growl.  
"Threw the building across from us. At the end of the chamber, sixteen broad marble steps lead up to a stone doorway" said Oberon.  
"And?" demanded Killian.  
"Leads into a platform encircling a spire, some kind of sightseeing overpass. We can make it with the feles" said Oberon.  
Killian looked at the wall across from them, its smooth grey surface a polished sheen of stone.  
“We’re moving!” screamed Killian.  
He grabbed Oberon's Tessen and charged the wall, using the field the shield made to disintegrate his way through the wall. A few moments and he fell into the room on the other side. The others quickly fled threw the exit he'd made.

A wash of light cast through the open doorway as the feles climbed the steps, they’d come out in a wide onyx platform 100 meters wide, one of several rings the encircled a tower. Great windows gave them a view of the light and fury as the war outside flared and flashed. The humans were battling outside as the twelve feles huddled on the platform.  
H"sk followed the platform round until he found a sweep of curved stairs, flush with the tower wall, which led up to the next level. Clutching the Fukiya he was given and slumping against the wall he watched for anything not human descending.  
What seemed like an eternity passed and H'sk’s eyes grew heavy, he saw a green light flashing on his chest as his eyes closed. It was from the machine the medic had placed there like a badge. His eyes felt like they were closing of their own accord, the sounds of the battle seemed…faint. So sleepy!  
Suddenly his eyes shot open, it felt like all his muscles were pumping all at once. A young feles girl was looking shocked at his sudden reaction.  
“What’s happening?” said Terr.  
“Its okay!” said H'sk, through gritted teeth.  
“Why’s it flashing red?” said Terr.  
Pointing at the badge with her claws out.  
“The medic said it needed changing if it did that” said H'sk.  
He looked over and saw Oberon bleeding on the other side of the platform with the other feles. He struggled up from his slumped position and Terr helped him over to the injured human.  
Killian? sent Oberon.  
Outside melding fire raked the rubble around the humans. The humans’ shields appeared as they returned fire before quickly falling behind the rubble and repositioning.  
2nd?, transmitted Killian.  
Killian's radio flared screeching at Oberon, he transmitted the word 'report' through the myaloweb. He was concussed but desperate to communicate, fumbling between the two ways.  
"Base of tower, heavy fighting, we…"  
Killian stopped and ducked as melding fire got close to his head, he nearly payed for his distraction. The shields went up again as the humans returned fire with their Gunbai. They changed position whilst the shields smart-wear kept firing, Killian calmed his host body as shouting was all around him.  
You okay, sent Oberon.  
Heavy resistance. Where are…, transmitted Killian.  
He trailed off as blue shadows descended from the sky, vertically slamming into the ground and throwing several of the enemy. Ten giants stood beset by the melding weapons, the assault soldiers blitzed the enemy with phased charges and incendiaries. Knocking them down to finish them off, explosions marking each death. Each soldier seemed to levitate within a shimmering giant shape only seen as a mass of glass shards. The Longwitton were the mechanised core of the Barghest. Linus’ first company veterans mopped up the enemy within a minute. The first company lieutenant glanced sidelong at Killian.  
“Linus reporting” said Avel.  
Bout time! sent Oberon.  
Avel sneered at Oberon’s comment in the Myaloweb.  
“Where is your captain?” asked Killian.  
“Next street, mopping up” said Avel.  
We’ve secured Renaissance, sent Avel.  
Killian was missing an eye and vomited his guts out against a wall. The feles were carrying Oberon back down the stairs and H'sk strode down supported by another feles.  
“How’s the battle going?” asked H'sk.  
The Longwitton cheered in unison, answering him. Killian cursed out of his half-slurred bloodied mouth, then righted himself as he strode back trying to appear in charge. Attack ships streaked past overhead, obliterating the block to the south.  
“Signal for extraction” said Killian.  
“Bout time! This body’s scrap” said Oberon.  
The remaining members of Renaissance third company gathered the survivors and left their dead. They huddled with the feles waiting for the rescue shuttles. Their wounds grievous and the Squamae armour being the only clean thing on them. One clung to his Scramsax, yet they all seemed too chipper in the face of this brutal battle. In fact they’d seemed more worried when the feles were in the firing line. Now the Longwitton were here they seemed happy.  
“Oh numine. Medic!” exclaimed a soldier with the Bohiya.  
"What's wrong Fawke?" said the medic.  
The medic came rushing over and one of the Longwitton stepped back in its huge form, its mass of shards physically stepping back from the wounded human. The human was bleeding, continuously, and she seemed to be holding her side to hold back the blood.  
“Penya! Damn it I said don’t take the entoblood” said Fawke.  
Killian was up and over to the medic’s side, Avel’s group backed up. The medic was fumbling in her bag for something while Killian was ordering the female soldier to sit by a wall away from the others. The palpable fear among the humans drew worried looks from the feles.  
“Just stay here and we’ll get you in the cargo berth in the transport home” said Killian.  
Walking away from the injured soldier he passed H'sk and gave him a glance as he made his way over to Avel. There had been concern in his voice.  
“Don’t worry we can decontaminate you at home” said the medic.  
All the Feles could feel it, a touch of nameless dread. As if the air was chilled and it had got into your blood. As Killian came back over, H'sk stood up.  
“Is she okay?” said H'sk.  
Killian regarded him with a kind smile.  
“She will be” said Killian.  
“She helped Terr when the fighting began” said H'sk.  
Killian held up his hands as he heard the rescue shuttles push through the atmosphere. He looked over at the still bleeding female soldier.  
“Why is she bleeding like that? Doesn’t she need help? I don’t underst-” asked H'sk.  
“She’ll be fine. It’s us that need to worry” said Killian.  
He looked up at the shuttles getting closer.  
“Why is there an air about her? Why do we need to worry?” asked H'sk.  
“Only the living worry about death” said Killian.  
He marched over and joined the medic. As the shuttles descended the group huddled together. Once they landed on the rubble of a building the bleeding soldier used the wall to rise from the floor and slowly walked over to the first shuttle. Everyone gave her a wide berth and one of the crew unlocked a cargo pod. She got into a rectangular storage pod and the crewman sealed her in, a trail of blood following in her wake. As the pilot re-secured the pod Killian turned to his alien friends.  
“Okay, we’re out of here. Come on folks” he said.  
As the wounded humans and the feles marched into the passenger section. H'sk stopped as he helped others get up the gang ramp.  
“Why is she below?” he asked.  
“She’s a danger until we can get her home. We can’t help her until she’s decontaminated otherwise we risk harming ourselves” said Killian.  
“I don’t understand!” said H'sk.  
Killian put his hand on his shoulder.  
“I’ll tell you later, for now get on the transport” said Killian.  
H'sk nodded and filed in with the feles and the wounded humans. Oberon was with them as was all of Renaissance, all but Killian. He stayed, H'sk looked across the others in their seats and saw Killian still standing with the Longwitton. As he made to rise from his seat the medic put her hand on H'sk's chest and shook her head. The transport lifted off and H'sk didn’t know if he’d ever see his friend again.

Koi marched into the street with his unit as the Longwitton clambered up the buildings and into the air. Killian looked worse for wear but gave Koi a nod. He was joining their squad to purge the threat, the Polypus. Usually they’d withdraw after they searched for survivors but with so many dead they owed them retribution. Koi passed him a Gunsen and after reloading the clip slot they marched back up the street.  
“Five space pits open at 300 meters” said Koi.  
“Hit one on our way here, flushed them out and neutralised” said another soldier.  
“Any civilians? Ours or theirs” asked Killian.  
“None, of either unfortunately” said the soldier.  
Koi looked his usual neutral self but Killian had a hurt look in his eyes. More than 28 meters from the extraction point they encountered the first space pit. A weird round tornado of red mist that looked oddly flat at any angle you looked at it. As Koi's squad marched towards it a soldier noticed a shadow.  
“Armor!”  
The melding light twisted the unfortunate man, and his blood soon stained the floor. Koi wasn’t fast enough; the moment he turned, he was caught in the arm by a stray beam. Even while in mind-bending agony, he still tried to fight, muttering and reaching for the dead man’s gunsen. His team didn’t stop shooting. The armoured polypus was a hulk with weapon lens across it. His heart pounding in his ears, Killian threw the horokubiya and it detonated against the monster. Another soldier leaped upon the beast and buried his maece in its head ending the creature. Leaving cover, his gunsen’s clip was empty but Killian clambered up to help the soldier that dealt the killing blow.  
"Come on Garen, we have to keep going" said Killian.  
Gravity fields penetrated the 2d haze and the humans stormed in, their Gunsen raised. They caught the Polypus unaware, sitting around a light of sorts reloading their weapons. Believing themselves safe in the haze field. Disintegration fields rending Polypus as they were bashed with shields or come in contact with the field. No explosions from exposure to space-time, the beings were even without helmets. Their cubic faces disturbing to the humans as they decimated their perimeter. Garen stopped running and looked lost among the carnage, the fighting wedge shielded him from return fire but he stood there like a sitting duck.  
"Garen what are you doing?" said Killian.  
"I can't remember what..."  
He looked dazed, staggering and glossy eyed, like he was lost in a dream.  
"He's forgetting, we need to withdraw. Radiation!!!" yelled Koi.  
Killian dived out of cover and tried to reach Garen who still looked dumbfounded, the soldier dropped to the floor as a melding beam seared his shoulder. Killian turned to his flank, his shield coming up as the smart weapon lanced the Polypus. He rose and leapt beside Garen, seeing his disfigured shoulder. Dragging him away from the fighting edge as Linus group withdrew. Dragging Garen out of the haze Killian felt the heavier gravity from the generators.  
"Mael!” exclaimed Killian.  
Linus squad slowly withdrew out of the 2d haze and deactivated the extra gravity field as they took position around the haze. After a few minutes the Polypus stormed out, melding beams raked across the cover Linus squad hide behind. Linus returned fire with two members pulling out a Honjo masamune and a Bleeding lance. Two specialist weapons for dealing with Polypus. Hit by the bleeding lance a polypus stumbled and seemed to crash to the ground. Another screamed in its ear piercing way as the honjo killed it, a human without a helmet screamed out. So near the noise his skin boiled from the polypus' scream. Several were shot dead by Linus’ gunsens. A polypus captain emerged with another wave shooting their melding weapons at the humans. The enemy captain used a strange gauntlet on one of its tentacles, the object grew darker somehow as it was activated.  
“Dimensional weapon!” called out Koi.  
Linus returned fire and came under fire from two directions behind them. It was random but enough to force Linus to fire in other directions.  
“Outflanked! Linus withdraw!” yelled Koi.  
Killian dragged Garen up as the other formed the scyldburh formation with their gunsens. His reloaded gunsen on his back and Garen’s arm over his shoulders Killian made his way through the streets as the shield fired. The Polypus surged and a Longwitton landed on them to give the squad a break. Garen and three others were taken by the Bluecaps on the field as the Dankanese sieged the space pits. After thirty hours of fighting the city was utterly destroyed and the Polypus fled back to a gateway. Overwhelmed by dankanese numbers. Knowing their enemy would return the humans were sated enough to withdraw. Dropships and matter teleportation taking all human life from the surface as Gopelion was abandoned.


	6. Cairn, walkway of mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another boring day as a post-deity teen in an 11 Supercluster nation

Wansdyke, Eiddyn megastructure  
She felt everything but she felt the cold of the cairn the most. That cylinder that held her body, that stillness and heaviness of the device. Like an odd feeling, both distant but close.  
As she opened her eyes she found herself beside her friend. Standing in an observation deck, holograms rendering the outside visible on the walls. She wore a green webbed suit and her friend was wearing a neon blue longsleeve and breeches. The sun was cresting over the planet, a faint glow upon a world of red clouds. From the observation deck looking out of the space station the view was filled with the gas giant below, as well as the stars and the green moon made of Amazonite ore. She saw four alien girls were looking out onto the swirling storms of the giant. The squid-like lolligo girl in her veil. The bird-like Cicon girl in her wide sleeved jacket and slacks with leg warmers. The reptilian Nilo girl in her full body suit and the bovine Eligan girl in her spacesuit tied around her waist with a vest on. She got closer to listen to the aliens.  
"No but serious the humans can't be from across the cosmos, its impossible. They have to be from somewhere else in the…what did they call it?" asked the reptile.  
"Ursa major supercluster" said the bovine.  
"Whatever Mm'Eska! Our big cluster of galaxies, if that's even a word, is where they're from and they just made up the rest so we don't go looking for them" scoffed the reptile.  
"Really?" asked the bird alien.  
"Yeah, it's a ruse to dupe us" said the reptile "There's no galaxy matching the Milky Way in our cluster. I doubt there's even an extragalactic nation in the whole of space anyway."  
"Why do you say that SsRea?" asked the squid.  
"Yuoli! The scientists don't see any tachyon communications or spot anything in their extragalactic telescopes. So where are they?" said SsRea.  
"Why would they use tachyons?" said Mm'Eska.  
"Why not?" demanded SsRea "We use them to communicate between star systems."  
Tempted she joined in on the conversation.  
"Because extragalactic space is greater than the size of the galaxy if not more so tachyons would be useless?!"  
"Biea" snapped her friend.  
The alien girls turned to the two human girls as Biea descended the staircase to join them. The one that spoke was a foot taller than all of them and her friend following her was their height.  
"Besides how would you're telescopes detect anything in such vastness?" said Biea.  
"They would!" snarled SsRea.  
"In a million years, sure, and Tachyons in dark space, really, might as well be detecting radiowaves in space" said the Biea.  
SsRea slurped her tongue as the other three aliens looked out the window. A large orb rotated out of the clouds then sank back inside the gas giant. The three alien girls looked hoping to see it emerge again. When it didn't the squid alien was the first to speak up.  
"What was that?"  
"A planet" said the other human girl.  
"In a gas giant?!" scoffed SsRea.  
"Yes. What did you think this station does, why do you think its in orbit around a gas giant" said Biea.  
"You can't make a planet like you do a spacesh-" said Mm'Eska.  
"We do" interrupted the other human.  
"Impossible!" said SsRea.  
"How do you think we made the megastructures so quickly?" said the Biea.  
"You didn't, you brought them with you" said SsRea.  
"Why? We were travelling between galaxies, there's not a lot of pit stops. We made them here the same way we're making that planet" said Biea.  
"Ridic-"  
SsRea was cut off by the shadow blotting out the small sun from outside. The orb had rose out of the gas giant, filling the observation view from end to end. Blotting out the gas giant and star from view. The two humans smiled, happy to see them enjoy the view.  
Why do you tease them Biea, sent her friend.  
Come on Veris, sent Biea.  
Both humans stood with their alien friends, the girls sat in awe at the creation of a world. 

Offa’s Dyke, Eiddyn megastructure  
The moment ebbed in her mind inside the cairn. Her eyes opened in another body. She stood on another Gas giant megastructure. She wore a green tunic and pants. Her friend Sssre laughed, a strange motion shook the reptiles' chest but nothing else. As she stood there in her stretched space suit with its visored bulbous helmet. She was a Naja, part of the perculiar 6 armed snake species of this region in space. Biea smiled as she watched her reflection in the window, staring out at the clouds of a gas giants upper atmosphere. The thick hull separating them both from radiation as well as vacuum but they could see out a holo window. She was not the only alien aboard the human space station but she was Biea's friend and after all the fear of conflict an elder race's presence makes it was good to say such.  
"Honestly you humans are so arrogant."  
"How so?" asked Biea.  
"Just because you built a single station and have it orbiting the gas giant we're supposed to think you're more technological than we are?!" said Sssre.  
"You think not?" asked Biea.  
"Not at all. You got lucky with some ancient tech or some weapon left by an elder race thats all. Now you want us to believe your race has some how leaping to undreamt of heights in that…what did you call that scale thing?" said Sssre.  
"The Culturae Gradu scale?!" answered Biea.  
"Yes. I think you found most of it in a dig or pre-human ruin. Your homeworld is probably on the galactic edge" said Sssre.  
"Maybe."  
"Why are you even in orbit here? Are gas giants really that interesting or are you out of fuel, it wouldn't surprise me" said Sssre.  
"No we just need something" said Biea.  
The female alien made a gesture Biea believed was similar to a shrug, obviously not convinced she looked out the window at the swirling clouds.  
"I'm just waiting until you ask my government for help" said Sssre.  
"Uh-huh" dismissed Biea.  
"Anyway I have to meet my guest on the mezza, its nice not to think of you as that scary unknown elder race. You're just the first mammals we met" said Sssre.  
She laughed again and rubbed her knuckles into the top of Biea's head, grinning she departed headed for the mezzanine. Another person lingered in Biea's myaloweb looking into the station. It was an augmented reality feature in a 7d psychic network all humans used.  
You didn't tell her? sent Bori.  
Small steps, she sent back.  
She'll find out very soon, he sent.  
An odd column shifted up out of the clouds, eighty kilometers thick and two thousand in length. Yet it was only half emerged from the gas giant. The titanic upper half of the megastructure below rose out of the clouds. Dragged by the singularity that had formed it. The station creaked as its engines laboured at rising the column into orbit. He imagined his alien friend panicking, staring out of the window elsewhere. The momentary respite of her delusion burst at the sight of a higher races industry.  
Well she knows now, sent Bori.

Burh 12, Popilios space  
Her mind ebbed again, her eyes opening on an interspecies station in Popilios space. She wore a luminous green dress this time. She rolled her eyes at the comments in her myaloweb about her similar faces on all her hosts. Being a multiform most favoured a myriad but she felt it alienated her from her other host bodies.  
"You have Sci fi?" said an alien.  
"Huh?" said Biea.  
The small alien stood aghast at the statement of the human, who was trying to tell if its short stature was due to deformity or youth. She found herself surprised by Popilios boy, the small butterfly-like alien was dressed in a poncho and spacesuit wrapped underneath it. Biea smiled and nodded the alien boy seemed to bask in the glow of her presence as well as her dresses luminous green glow.  
"I don't know what that means. You showed teeth and bobbed your head, is that a yes?" asked the alien.  
"Yes," said Biea "why what does your kind do?"  
"We kind of just..."  
The alien twitched its antannae as if in answer to her question.  
"Oh okay?!" she replied.  
"Its just I can't believe your kind has Sci fi. I mean you're a super advanced race so what's futuristic to you?" asked the alien.  
"Okay, what's your name?" asked Biea.  
"Lynsu" said the alien.  
"Well let me think, we set things in phase space or vector space" said Biea "Though we have a lot of bioweapon and dying megastructure stories but that's mainly post apocalypse fiction."  
"What do you mean bioweapon?" said Lynsu.  
"Parasitic species that depopulate others by taking them over or birthing from them" said Biea.  
The alien stood open mouthed, Biea grinned and Lynsu grimaced so she stopped.  
"What else?"  
"Let's see?! Weird examples of life in the early or future cosmos due to there being less or more dimensions" said Biea.  
"Wait, what?" said Lynsu.  
"Long science-y story but lets not get side tracked. Stuff like hiveminds that work between parallel worlds and robots made of phasic metal. 8d travel mistakes that split a person between galaxies and they have to deal with it" said Biea.  
"I have no idea what you just said and I was born in space!" said Lynsu.  
Biea shrugged.  
"There's also fiction about devolution or losing CG5 status..."  
"What's C-G-5?" interrupted the alien again.  
"It's being a Supercluster nation, more advanced than an elder race" said Biea. "Post heat-death fiction," she continued "where we have to rebuild in a cosmos unsuitable to our form of life. Or even the paranormal…"  
"Wait?! You have paranormal fiction?" interrupted Lynsu.  
"Yes but to us its similar to police drama than horror, except anything to do with Outer beings. That's just pure horror" she said.  
Biea was quiet as the alien stood open mouthed, she wondered if it was a gesture of astonishment or something else. Maybe a gesture of disbelief. The alien made a grotesque clicking sound.  
"Err…" said Biea.  
"Can I see some?!" said Lynsu.  
"Sure! Why not" she said.

On the Wansdyke, Offa’s Dyke and Burh 12 Biea's hosts shuddered in unison. Her friends Veris and Bori both noticed.  
Is that the Shiver? sent Bori.  
Biea rubbed her arms as goose bumps spread along all her host's bodies.  
You need more hosts...or isolation if that's happening, sent Veris.  
I'm fine...Brr, sent Biea.  
A second wave of shudders travelled across Biea's hosts as her actual body in the Cairn trembled.  
"Are you okay?" asked Lynsu.  
Biea explained her shivering on the Wansdyke to Yuoli and on the Offa's dyke to Sssre who had returned to her side. The young Popilios boy seemed to surprise her host on Burh 12, but she was too cold. She felt the cold in her veins.  
"Hey, are you okay? Should I get a doctor or a holy man or something?" said Lynsu.  
"No I'm okay. Just a little sick" said Biea.  
"What would make a human sick?" asked Lynsu.  
"We all have the Shiver since we're Multiforms, it's just part of our growth process" said Biea.  
"What's a multiform?" asked Lynsu.  
"Same as a group of people with one soul" said Biea.  
Lynsu looked confused, then his eyes went wide as frost appeared on her arm.  
"Mael" exclaimed Biea.  
The pain spread across her shoulder and her hosts on the Dyke megastructures moved away from the aliens. Headed towards their quarters to find isolation. The multiverse sickness swept into her hosts like a cold gale. She looked over at Lynsu as she furiously rubbed her shoulder.  
"It's a side effect, of my cairn" said Biea.  
"Your what?" asked Lynsu.  
"The machine we use to be mortal again. We used to be very different, less bound by our flesh. The machine is called a cairn and it means we can be Multiforms. It's how a powerful creature can be mortal again" said Biea.  
"But why would you want to be?" said Lynsu.  
"To hide from other powerful creatures and to stay safe from the bombs. When the nukes fly the bugs survive" said Biea.  
Lynsu twitched in some mistaken translation that he'd survive something he didn't understand. A weapon that could kill higher beings was so utterly alien to him. They walked towards a human shop. Her friend Astoria appeared in her myaloweb.  
Hey, what's happening? Are you okay? sent Astoria.  
Just another boring day, sent Biea.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is linked to the Deorum regna series and the Sci fi sourcebook


End file.
